And so passes another interesting week here in the bellies of the heat of Kathmandu.
I have started doing some yoga with kids in an orphanage next to the house, street children in a drop-in center, and adults males in a drug rehab center. Going to these places and working with such different groups and individuals has been most enjoyable, and it is fascinating to see the different responses from the groups.
The main idea I had so far with the kids was drawing pictures of the different poses and then doing them with noises.
For example, for Downward Dog I had them draw a dog first, and then we would get into the position and all bark like dogs. This idea works especially well because it requires little language (beyond knowing the names of animals in Nepali and how to say “Ok, not get up and make the noise!” and “Breathe in and out!”) and it works well with short attention spans to go from sitting to movement. I was amazed that at the drop-in center they immediately got into it and worked with me for a full 20 minutes, quite an impressive feat. They loved making the noises and trying to perfect their drawings, and then twisting themselves into weird shapes. However, at the orphanage, where they are used to a strict regimen and sitting for long periods in school, they actually wanted me to do some flow-yoga with them and not break it up all the time with the drawings.
To go to the drug rehab center I had to get up at 540 in the morning for the 630 allotted time. I came thinking I could sit quietly and join their activities for the first day, but I should have known better. After watching them do sun salutations in two rows of three while the others watched, and joining hands for some prayer in Nepali I couldn’t understand (probably about the power of god within themselves, as it is heavily based on the 12-step program), they asked me what I could show them. I was a bit thrown off at their readiness to listen to me, and the heat of the room was making me dizzy. I told them I had wanted to see how they do things and observe, but one pose I really like is Tree pose, so we all did that and almost fell over. I had them do one sun salutation with me, telling them when to breathe. Then they started showing me different poses and all took turns going in the middle doing shoulder stands.
The best though was when I asked them is they were willing to be silly like children and went into cat-cow with noises and all- that’s right, I had a group of fifteen 20-30 year old men mooing and meowing on all fours. I told them its important to let go and allow yourself to make funny sounds or move your body in new ways. The volunteer teacher that day, someone who has been in an out of the program told me that since they are all recovering addicts they struggle with the moves and still have a hard time with their bodies. I told him we all have a hard time with them and can work together to learn how to use them better. It was amazing how open and willing they were.
At the end we chanted OM five time and they asked me to talk. Its hard to be unsure of what to say on top of uncertain how much people understand you, on top of feeling like I am talking to a bunch of men who may not wat floyw language. So I quoted some Ariel-isms on how many of us have forgotten that we have a body and the importance of breath going in and out of it, and that often when we use drugs we put aside how cool it is to move our bodies. It is nice to appreciate small actions and not be hard on ourselves. Afterward the volunteer w as telling me how he acts as a mobilizer for the group and how much they would like to learn form me and my experiences. I felt a bit like a hoax, because they know about as much as I do, but I guess I just better start studying up on the Sanskrit names of the asanas and that way to get a good flow going.
I came again on Wednesday and told them that I realize that part of what helps me is influences from other cultures, and I thought it would be nice to try something for them from my culture. We all sat around and chanted SHALOM 5 times, with me singing it and them all repeated. I told them that Shalom means Hello, Peace, and Goodbye and it is a great mantra. Then we did some breathing and balancing poses again, and I stressed the beauty of working on balancing is that it is something that gets easier over time and you can see a noticeable change with, and it teaches us patience to not get angry with ourselves if we are having a hard time.
Its nice also, by the way, that most of them have a good enough grasp on English and are so helpful at translating for the others who don’t, and I am also practicing some Nepali throughout the time there. At the end, I gave them paper and crayons and asked them all to write in Nepali or English an intention for the day, and then we threw it into the middle of the circle and all grabbed one. They took turns reading it out loud, and one person had written “Isolation” in Nepali, apparently not quite getting the idea of intention rather than how you are feeling now. One of them wrote in English they want to help others when they are in trouble, one wrote to not feel lonely, patience. So, I ended by telling them that they can think of these intentions throughout the day if they are having a hard time and remember that we all set goals for ourselves for the day both to have something to attain and to help bring us back to being calm, and it was a great way to start the day…
